The Woeful Tale of the Fallen
by FallenAngelxXx
Summary: This is the story of Fauna; the newest member of Halloween Town. Taken into the care of Sally and Jack, Fauna struggles to figure out who she is, how she got here, and the terrible reason why. R&R please!
1. Welcome to the Hell Hole

**A/N: This is my first fanfiction, so be nice please ^.^ This involves the characters from the Nightmare Before Christmas but does not revolve around them. They do however, have a large part in the plot ;) This first bit before the actual story is just a little background on what a vassal really is. Enjoy:)**

_Every year, we have days that honor the emotions of human beings; holidays. Christmas is joy, Valentine's Day is love, Thanksgiving is gratitude and so on. But what about the emotions that lay in the shadows of one's heart? Fear, grief, anger... a rememberence of death?_

_Halloween._

_The time when the dark emotions that lay dormant in the human heart come forth._

_Each holiday has vassals; souls taken from eternal rest to carry out duties that seem to fit the soul's time on Earth._

_So how does one become a vassal of fear...of Halloween?_

My name is Fauna Mangle. Well, that's the name I was given when I got to this hell hole.

Literally.

I don't remember much of what happened to me before I 'awakened' here, in Halloween Town, but I do know one thing; I wasn't always like _this._

A broken girl, with half a soul. At least, that's what it feels like. Like half of me is here and another is somewhere…else. I hope that wherever my other half is, that place is full of sunshine. Real sunshine. Not small beams of light trickling through dark, ominous clouds or emitting from a spooky ball in the sky.

I am a servant in the name of Halloween, one of the holiday's many ghoulish vassals. Upon arriving, no one has told me what being a vassal entailed, but only said that I would find out after I had 'adjusted' to my new life. I have only been here for a few months and to be honest, it is starting to feel like a constant downer.

The other ghouls, witches, and zombies live(so to speak) to scare the mortals in the human world.

I don't. I could care less. Maybe it is because, as Doc put it, I am one of the Fallen, a scarce kind of vassal.

My broken wings stirred at the thought. I sighed, glancing down at the mass of dusty grey emerging from my back. I frowned slightly at the patches of missing feathers, revealing broken skin and bones. There were parts of my wings that were just pure bone. I sighed again.

I didn't ask for this life.

I shook my head at the thought. I don't think anyone here asked for it.

Looking up at the moon, I realized that Sally would be wondering where I was. I hopped off my perch on the tombstone and slowly started my way back to the skeleton man's home.

As I walked along on the cold, dead ground my mind wandered back to when I first arrived here…


	2. Awakening

_The first feeling I remember was that of flying, high up into the sky. I had never felt so free before._

_But just as I was fully embracing my newfound freedom, I felt a harsh tug pulling me down._

_I was suddenly jerked back, no longer flying, but falling. My mind grew dark, everything grew dark, as I fell towards unconsciousness._

_Before I opened my eyes, voices surrounded me._

"_Another one already?"_

"_Didn't our last vassal arrive only last month?"_

"_Cruelty is rising in the human world, what else do you expect?"_

"_Give her some room to breathe. We don't want to the poor thing to be smothered upon awakening."_

_There._

_That voice of motherly concern brought me to full awareness. I opened my eyes and gasped at the world around me._

_Creatures I only vaguely remember hearing of surrounded me. People with fangs and hair all over their bodies. Others with sickly green, slimy skin or skin as pale as Death._

_Death…was that where I was? A land of Death?_

"_Am I dead?" My voice came out hoarse and frail._

"_No, Fauna. You have come back to serve our time. Our special time of the year."_

_I turned my head towards the motherly voice. It belonged to a woman with long brown hair and a sewn face. She reminded me of a rag doll, one that seemed so familiar…_

_She smiled kindly at me and said, "Welcome to Halloween Town, Fauna Mangle."_

_The monsters around her cheered my name- at least, I think that was my name- and offered me greetings._

_I sat on what seemed to be the edge of a smoky fountain in the middle of a town square. I didn't remember how, or even when I got here, so I stood, looking at faces around me, confused._

_The sewn woman took my elbow, for I was a little wobbly on my feet, and started leading me through the crowd._

"_Don't worry, Fauna. All will be explained shortly."_


End file.
